Communicative Language Teaching is one of the most

largely spread and used theories developed by Henry

Widdowson.
This is an approach that aims to :
 make communicative competence the goal of language
teaching
develop procedures for teaching the four language skills
that acknowledge the interdependence of language and
communication
● the Communicative Approach
in language teaching starts from
a theory of language as
communication

● the goal of language teaching

is to develop communicative
competence , rather than
describe the core of language
through traditional concepts of
grammar and vocabulary

● developing language skills is

more important than teaching
content, students must be
taught to use the language
functionally and strategically to
achieve real-world aims, as
people do in real life
● meaning is more important than
form; fluency of language is as
important as linguistic accuracy;
learners must acquire confidence in
their skills and abilities and should
become less scared of making
mistakes as errors are a natural
part of learning

● active participation and affective

involvement in the learning process
raise students’ motivation; the
student must become a partner in
the learning process, reason for
which active ways of learning such
as pair work or group work ensure
long-term acquisition.
 unlike other methods of language teaching, which rely on
repetition and drills, the Communicative Approach focuses
more on spontaneous activities and practice, which
provides varied outcomes depending on student reactions
and responses.
 the real-life simulations differ from day to day so that
students' motivation to learn comes from their desire to
communicate in meaningful ways about significant topics.
 this method is focused upon students being able to
communicate in a conscious way, taking into account real
experiences.
 in the Communicative Language Approach language has a
social purpose, therefore the students must be given a
reason for producing language (exchanging information,
approving, criticizing), it shouldn’t be taught for its own
sake
 communication is mainly interactive as classroom activities
simulate real-life interactions: students share and
negotiate information in social and discoursal contexts
that imitate those of real life communication
 linguistic material similar to the one students may come
across in real life should be used by the teacher: magazine
articles, instructions of usage, guidebooks, literary texts,
advertisements.
● exercises and activities that
require information sharing,
negotiation of meaning,
interaction
●functional communication
activities that include tasks
such as comparing sets of
pictures and noting similarities
and differences, working out a
sequence of events in a set of
pictures, discovering missing
features in a map or a picture,
one learner communicating
behind a screen to another
learner and giving instructions
on how to draw a picture or
shape or how to complete a
map, following directions,
solving problems from shared
clues
Social interaction
activities include:
 conversation
 discussion sessions
 dialogues
 role plays
 simulations
 improvisations
 debates